Shades of Grey
by Jenny70529
Summary: Cody's haunting dream may be the only clue as to what's going on with Zack as he starts to behave strangely.
1. Dreams

A/N: This is my first Suite Life fic, so please be gentle! I love reviews. Hope you enjoy!

Shades of Grey:

_He knew something was wrong before he opened the door. He wasn't sure what, but something was off, different. He wasn't sure where he was or what was going on, only that everything around him was in a thick haze, surrounded by silence, a stale stench of copper in the air. He was scared, his heart pounded wildly as he crept forward, and all of a sudden he was falling, falling, falling….he hit the ground with a thud, coming face to face with his brother, who was laying still on the ground before him._

"_Oh my God." Cody gasped, kneeling at his brother's side, his pants growing damp from the blood that surrounded his body, "Zack? No!"_

_Time seemed to fast-forward, leaving Cody dizzy as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He looked down, his chest aching with pain as he began to shake his brother roughly._

"_Wake up! Please Zack, I can't do this alone. Please Zack, please!" Cody sobbed, resting his forehead against his brother's icy forehead, "Please, please."_

Cody awoke with a start, his brother's name on his lips. He sat up, reaching for the light switch. He had to make sure Zack was ok; he had to make sure his dream hadn't been real. His heart sank when he spotted his brother's bed, which had obviously not been slept in. A surge of fear surged through his veins as he scrambled out of bed, tugging on the white t-shirt that had worked itself halfway up his chest throughout his nightmare. Flinging open the door, he was disappointed to find the living room empty, which meant his mother hadn't come back from her show yet. He exhaled slowly, rubbing his forehead. If she wasn't back yet, then it probably wasn't very late. There was no need to worry, no need to panic.

"What are you doing up?"

Cody shrieked loudly, nearly falling over his own feet as he spun around, coming face to face with the person he had been searching for.

"Chill, man." Zack laughed, holding his hands up, "What's with the screaming?"

"Where have you been?" Cody lectured, crossing his arms over his chest, "I wake up in the middle of the night alone. What if Mom would have come up early and found out you snuck out? What girl is so important that you'd risk getting grounded forever just to see her on a school night? I was worried sick about you! I had no idea where you were, you could have been dead on a street--"

Giving Cody a playful shove, Zack walked into their bedroom, "Relax, I got home before Mom did, no harm, no foul, right? I've been home for awhile now, I grabbed a bite to eat and I took a shower. Stop worrying so much, you're starting to sound like Dad….or worse, Mom."

"Well _someone_ has to act responsible here, and it's obviously not going to be you!" Cody seethed, "Do you try to get under my skin like this or is it just some natural born talent?"

Zack was silent for a moment before he looked up to meet Cody's gaze. A soft smile appeared on his lips as they both shrugged, "Talent."

As Zack got ready for bed, Cody sat on his own bed, crossing his legs, "Hey, Zack?"

"Yeah?"

Cody watched as Zack tossed his hoodie into a pile of clothes in the center of the room, "Have you ever had a dream so real that you could have sworn it actually happened?"

Zack was caught by surprise by the slight tremor in his 'younger' brother's voice, taking a few strides across the room to flop down on the bed next to him, "No, why?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Cody shrugged, embarrassed now that he brought it up. What was he supposed to say? '_Zack, I had a dream that you slit your wrists open on the bathroom floor?'_ If he started saying stuff like that, everyone would think he was starting to lose it. After all, didn't those prone to committing suicide have generally low self-esteems? Zack had the strongest self-esteem out of anyone Cody had ever met. It was ridiculous.

"Are you sure, man?" Zack asked, his eyes scrunching as he stared at his brother's face, "You look upset about something…sorry I didn't call or something, I didn't mean to freak you out."

Cody shrugged, "It's nothing, don't worry about it. We should get some sleep, it's late."

"Sure." Zack replied, rolling off of his brother's bed, falling into his own moments later, "Night."

"Night."

Within minutes, the soft sounds of snoring echoed in Cody's ears, but he found himself unable to sleep, still plagued by the nightmare that had awoken him earlier. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like this was something important, something he needed to be aware of and to remember. When the sun rose the following morning, he was still lying in his bed, trying to comprehend why this dream was bothering him so much.

--

For the first time in years, Zack was the first person out of bed. He reached over and turned off his alarm, which had been blaring for nearly 5 minutes. Normally, Cody would have either gotten up to turn it off himself or, if waking in a particularly cranky mood, yell at Zack to turn it off. He looked over at Cody, seeing he was awake, suddenly worried something was wrong. Cody was one of those morning people who always seemed to wake up cheery and energized, much unlike Zack, who never seemed to fully wake up until sometime after third period.

Sitting on Cody's bedside, he put his hand on Cody's forehead, "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine." Cody replied with a yawn, pushing himself up with his elbows, "Just tired."

"Didn't you sleep well?"

"No." Cody said softly, stretching and forcing himself out of bed. This was going to be a long day, he could already tell. The only good thing would be that when he went to bed tonight, he'd be too exhausted to think about nightmares and worst-case scenarios, he'd hopefully fall into a dreamless abyss.

"I can tell Mom you're sick so you can stay home and sleep." Zack offered, slipping on a pair of jeans he found in the pile of dirty clothes, "Or I can tell her we're both sick and we can hang out today and enjoy a 'mental health day'."

Cody smiled at Zack, both knowing that would never happen. Cody hated to lie to his mother, and he found school to be too important to skip for no good reason. He crinkled his nose as Zack pulled a shirt out of the dirty clothes pile, taking a whiff and nearly gagging. As Zack continued to rummage, Cody reached into the dresser, pulling out a clean shirt for his brother, "Try this."

"Then I'll just have more clothes that need to be washed."

"Since you only wash your clothes once a month, it shouldn't be an issue." Cody replied, rolling his eyes and carefully picking out his outfit for the day. Unlike Zack, who would throw on the first thing he came across then stagger into the kitchen to wolf down breakfast, Cody liked to chose his clothing carefully and take a long shower in the morning before joining his mother and brother for breakfast.

"I thought you may want to try tofu patties instead of sausage today." Carey announced as she slid Zack's plate in front of him.

As Cody walked to the bathroom, he made a mental note to take enough time to miss that adventure in cooking. He could only imagine the look of disgust on his brother's face as he eyed the healthy alternative dish his mother was pushing today. He smirked as he turned on the shower; his mother couldn't cook normal food, what made her think she could manage this?

As he stepped into the steaming water, he noticed Carey's razor sitting on the ledge. His dream came back to him full force and he quickly shut his eyes in hopes of blocking the images out. He had never been rattled so badly by a dream; it was really starting to freak him out.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock on the bathroom door, "Would you hurry it up, I need to go!" Zack's voice rang through the door, "I swear, you're worse than a girl!"

Turning the water off, Cody reached for his towel and quickly dried off, slipping on his robe. He grabbed the hairbrush and opened the door, nearly falling as Zack pushed past him. He rolled his eyes, shutting the door behind him as he heard the sound of Zack's zipper coming undone….his brother had absolutely no patience.

Once he was pleased with his appearance, he forced a smile onto his tired face and made his way to the kitchen table. He stabbed his fork at the tofu patty, deciding just by its appearance that he wasn't going to eat it. Pushing it around on the plate a few times, he wished Zack would hurry so they'd have an excuse to leave. As if his brother had read his mind, Zack emerged from the bathroom, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and calling out, "Time to go!"

"Wait, let me get my things." Cody replied, pushing his chair back, "I need to get my library books out of our room."

"I'll meet you downstairs." Zack replied, opening the door and calling out a quick bye to Carey before making his way to the elevators, slamming the door behind him.

As Cody emerged from his room, Carey was hanging up the phone. Giving him a hug, she began her morning routine, "Now be careful on the way to school and don't forget to wear your helmet. Do you have your homework? Your lunch money? I don't want you two stopping by the candy counter after school, you obviously are filling up on junk and aren't eating the meals I cook for you. Oh, and tell Zack to stay out of trouble."

"Ok Mom, I'm going to be late." Cody replied, shaking his head with amusement. He could practically recite her speech in his head after so many years of practice, "Bye!"

He didn't give her a chance to respond before racing to the elevator, hoping Zack was waiting for him and hadn't wandered off somewhere. Spotting his brother on the outside steps, he raced to catch up.

"Don't forget your helmet…mom says."

"She never told me anything." Zack said with a shrug, straddling his bike.

Cody smirked, "Maybe she just is more concerned for my safety than yours….after all, how much damage could a bump to the head do to _you_?"

"Yeah, she wouldn't want her _wittle bab- waby Cody-wody _to get hurt now, would she?" Zack retorted, "Race you!"

Before Cody could come up with a witty response, Zack was dusting him. As he struggled to catch up, he couldn't help but notice the sick nagging feeling that had taken residence in the pit of his stomach as he suddenly got a flash of the gruesome scene from his dream once more. Something was wrong; he could feel it, in the air, in his gut, in his bones. It shook him to the core, causing an involuntary shiver. What was going on? Why did everything seem so ominous? As he shivered once more, he had a feeling he'd have his questions answered soon enough.

TBC


	2. Grades

A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful replies! Hope you enjoy!

Shades of Grey:

Chapter Two:

"I want a bag of M&Ms," Cody told Maddie, placing his money on the counter, "Zack, what do you want?"

When Zack didn't respond, Cody turned to look at his older brother with a mixture of concern and frustration. Ever since they left school, it seemed like Zack was on a different planet, lost in thought. Even in a bad mood, though, Zack was usually more than happy to flirt with Maddie.

"Zack!"

Zack jumped slightly, finally seeming aware of his surroundings, "What?"

"Candy. What kind?" Cody asked impatiently, "Hurry up and choose, I want to show Mom my report card."

"Nerd." Zack snorted, digging his hands into his pockets. The last thing he wanted to do was show their mom his grades for the term. The sheer thought of what his mother would say and do when she saw his teacher's comments was enough to make him wish he had earned detention just to keep him out of the hotel for a bit longer. With a shrug, he glanced up at Maddie, "None for me."

"Slacker." Cody retorted, taking his candy from Maddie, "How bad _are_ your grades?"

"Bad enough." Zack mumbled, punching the elevator button. Usually he was able to maintain a C-D average, but this time his grades were definitely below par, even for his lax standards.

"Are you talking 'Grounded for a week' bad or 'summer school' bad?" Cody asked, popping a handful of candy into his mouth, "You know, if you'd just study for a few minutes a day, you wouldn't be in this predicament."

"What?"

"You wouldn't be standing here like you're looking down the barrel of a gun."

"Whatever." Zack replied, pushing the door open to the suite, his frown deepening when he spotted his mother. He had been hoping she wouldn't be home, then maybe he could have just dropped his things off and taken off on his bike for awhile...he was pretty sure he wouldn't be allowed out of his room for a long time after she got through with him.

Carey looked up from her book as the door opened, smiling when she saw the boys, "Hey guys, how was school today?"

"Fantastic!" Cody beamed, thrusting his report card in his mother's face, "Not only did I get straight A's; I also maintained an average of 99 or better in each class!"

Carey wrapped her arms around him, giving him a big hug, "That's great sweetie! I'm so proud of you! I am so lucky to have such a smart son."

"Thanks Mom." Cody smiled, dropping his backpack on the floor and walking to the fridge.

Carey held her hand out expectantly in front of Zack, "Speaking of smart sons..."

"Or not so smart ones." Zack muttered, handing the sheet of paper to his mother, "Look, I can explain..."

"I don't see how!" Carey exclaimed, staring in shock at the grades listed, "A 43 in History? A 58 in Math? A 0 in English?! Zachary Martin! How did this happen? What did you do?"

"Obviously not very much." Cody snorted, taking a sip of his orange juice.

Carey shot him a look that clearly indicated she wasn't in the mood, then crossed her arms angrily, "You're even failing gym. How do you fail gym?"

Zack shrugged, looking down at the floor, his face flushing.

"No, Zack, I want an answer from you." Carey insisted, putting her finger under Zack's chin to raise his head, "What is going on? I mean, I don't expect much from you...I know I'll never see grades from you like I see from your brother, but this is ridiculous."

Once again, Zack shrugged, darting his gaze to the wall, just over his mother's head. What did she want him to say? He clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms, his emotions surging between embarrassment and rage.

"Are you having trouble understanding the material? Are you having some sort of problems with your friends? What's going on, honey?" Carey asked, "Just talk to me."

Zack once again shrugged, his voice flat, "I'm just not smart like Cody is."

"Don't make this about your brother. This is about you." Carey spoke sharply, "I never see you study, I never see any papers brought home from school. I thought, no, I hoped that you were doing the work at school or that Cody was maybe being over-diligent by doing extra work, but that isn't it, is it? The reason you're doing poorly is because you aren't even trying."

"I try-"

"If you were trying, you wouldn't have a zero in English!" Carey shouted, "What would happen if I went to work and didn't try to do my best?"

"You'd get fired." Zack muttered, looking down at the carpet again, "But that's not the same."

Carey clenched his report card tighter in her hand, "Yes it is. School is your job. And I will not accept grades like this, young man. There is no reason why your grades should be so abysmal! I'm not going to tolerate this anymore...at this rate, you'll still be living here when you're 40 just because you won't have the education required to hold a job! Is that what you want? Or do you want people to think you're stupid? You know what...I don't even want to look at you right now, go to your room, you're grounded."

"For how long?" Zack replied, fighting back tears. He wasn't going to let her have the satisfaction of showing she was getting under his skin. His palms burned as his nails dug in deeper, but he was too worked up by now to notice. He glanced over at Cody, who was intently watching the exchange, and scowled.

Carey put the paper on the table, her hand trembling with anger, "The rest of the school year—"

"But Mom!" Zack protested, "That's 2 months away!"

"No buts. Go to your room, now." Carey seethed, "And I'd suggest getting some studying done, because if I don't see a tremendous improvement in your grades, you may be grounded until the end of _next_ school year!"

"Fine." Zack muttered, grabbing his backpack and stomping to his room, the door slamming behind him.

He threw himself down on the bed, tears burning his eyes as he replayed his mother's words over in his head once more. He knew she was right, he should have done better, but it certainly didn't help to have an over-ambitious brother who was great at everything. No matter how hard he tried, he knew he'd never be able to compare himself with Cody, and since he was going to be the lazy, stupid son anyway, why even bother trying to fight it?

The door opened and he quickly wiped his tears away, his hands still tightly clenched. He wasn't in the mood for another confrontation with his mother, and he tightly closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't have to go through the previous argument again. The bed shifted slightly as someone sat next to him, and without looking, Zack knew it was his brother.

"Do you want to talk?"

"Do you want to rub it in about how much smarter you are than me?" Zack retorted, his self-loathing and anger at his mother bubbling to the surface, looking for a way to escape.

Cody was silent for a few moments before putting his hand on his brother's shoulder, "What's going on? The only way you could have made a zero in English was if you didn't turn anything in at all. Why did you do that?"

Zack rolled over, a snappy response on his tongue, but was silenced when Cody grabbed his hand, "You're bleeding, what happened?"

"What?" Zack asked, holding his hand up, surprised to see blood dripping from where his fingernails had been pressed into his skin, "Oh, it's nothing."

"It's nothing? How did it happen? Why didn't you say you were hurt?"

Zack shrugged, wiping his hand off on his bedspread, "It's not a big deal, I was mad and I guess I had my hand clenched too tightly. It's fine."

"Do you want a band-aid?" Cody asked, inspecting Zack's hand, "It doesn't look deep, but—"

"It's fine." Zack replied, growing irritated, "I just want to be alone, ok?"

With a sad sigh, Cody honored his brother's wishes, leaving Zack to lay on his bed and stare at his bleeding hand with sheer fascination. He wiped his palms on the bedspread once more, a frown on his face. He had never felt so bad about himself in his entire life. Grades were never important to him before, and he never realized how much he craved his mother's approval.

"Great," Zack whispered softly, squeezing his hand and watching as another drop of blood spilled onto his green blanket, "Just another reason for Cody to be her favorite....as if she needs a reason to like him more."

In the living room, Cody stared blankly into his history book, consumed with thoughts of his nightmare. Seeing Zack with blood on his hands was far too eerie to ignore, as were the tears Zack was so desperately trying to hide. He was really upset this time, even though he and their mom fought about grades constantly. His gut was telling him he needed to stay with Zack and try to figure out what was going on to make his grades drop so drastically, to make him so upset and defensive, but he also knew that if he started pushing right now, he would get nowhere. After all, he was probably just overreacting...right?

TBC


	3. Intuition

A/N: Thank you for all of you who read and review! Please enjoy!

Shades of Grey:

Chapter Three:

"Zack?"

Cody pushed the door open, quietly creeping into their bedroom, "Zack? Dinner's ready."

"I'm not hungry." Zack said quietly, laying face down in the dark room, "Just go away."

"Are you sure? Mom made tacos, you love tacos."

"I'm not hungry!" Zack shouted, throwing his pillow in Cody's direction, his heart sinking when the door shut moments later. Part of him wanted Cody to stay, despite his insistence on being alone, although he knew that no matter what his brother did right now, it would irritate him beyond end. Rolling over onto his back, he stared blankly at the ceiling, only one thought racing through his mind…what was wrong with him?

Neglecting to retrieve his pillow, he closed his eyes, suddenly feeling more exhausted than ever.

In the kitchen, Carey and Cody ate in silence, both consumed with their own thoughts.

"Do you think something's wrong with Zack?" Cody asked, pushing his plate away as he finished his meal, "Do you think he's been acting strange?"

"Strange how?" Carey asked, "He seems a bit moody this afternoon, but being grounded, I don't really blame him."

"I guess you're right." Cody said quietly, "It's unlike him to blow off dinner, and he's just lying in his bed, he's not playing video games or anything. It was just weird."

"We'll keep an eye on him, okay?" Carey suggested, pushing her chair back and bringing her plate to the sink, "Are you all ready for your big science test tomorrow?"

"I've been studying for weeks!" Cody exclaimed, "It's a huge portion of our grade for the term, I'm really excited about it. I just know I'll do well, and then I will practically sail through the rest of the year. It's been a really rough year, I'm sort of looking forward to summer vacation."

"Has your brother studied for it?"

Cody hesitated, knowing fully well that Zack probably didn't even remember, or care, that the exam was tomorrow, then forced a smile for his mother, "Yeah, I'm sure he'll do well too. I'm going to go work on my homework, have fun at your show!"

Before his mother could respond, Cody grabbed his backpack and rushed to his room, the door slamming shut behind him. As he flicked on the lamp, he was surprised to see Zack asleep, on top of the covers, his cheeks stained with tears.

"Zack?" He whispered quietly, moving to his brother's side, "Zack, wake up."

"What?" Zack grumbled, his eyes still shut, "Go away Cody."

"Did you study for our science test?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Zack yawned, "Go away, I'm sleeping."

Within moments, Cody was left with only his homework and the soft sounds of his brother's snores. With a heavy sigh, he pulled out his math book and started working on his quadratic formulas. Something was wrong with his brother, even if no one else noticed, and he was going to get to the bottom of it as soon as he figured out how.

Hours passed and Cody shut his literature book with a yawn, tapping his pencil against his notebook. His essay on Macbeth wasn't due for another week, so he'd have plenty of time to work on it later, and the rest of his work was complete. Just as he had finished changing into his pajamas, the door opened and Carey stuck her head in, "It's time for bed, sweetie."

"I know, I was just putting away my homework."

"Okay, get some rest." Carey said softly, walking to her other son's bed and gently covering him with a blanket. "Love you guys."

"Love you mom." Cody yawned, nearly asleep before his head even touched the pillow.

_Cody banged his fist against the elevator door, growling impatiently when it still refused to open. Shaking his head, panic causing his heart to skip a beat, he sprinted towards the stairs. He didn't have time for this, he had to find his brother, he had to fix this._

_By the time he reached the 5__th__ floor, he was winded, and by the 10__th__, exhausted. He paused, resting his hands on his knees as he doubled over, breathing deeply while trying to focus on the situation at hand. He had to find Zack, he had to stop him before it was too late. _

_He sprinted up the stairs once more, ignoring the wooziness that seemed to overcome him between the 17__th__ and 18__th__ floor, pushing himself to run faster, breathe deeper, until he finally reached the door marked "23". He nearly a trampled a guest as he barreled towards their suite, pushing the door open and running first to the bedroom he shared with Zack, then to the bathroom, his heart skipping another beat when he found them both empty. Where could he be? He was supposed to be here! He would never get to Zack in time if he didn't know where to look!_

_Cody ran out of the suite, not even bothering to shut the door, and flung the stairwell door open once more, racing two more flights until he reached the rooftop. He cursed loudly when there was still no sign of his brother. _

_He had been through this dream before…he saw how it ended…but where had it taken place? He remembered hallways, but last time they had been foggy and hard to navigate. The memory was useless, every floor of the hotel was inundated with hallways. He concentrated hard on the last dream, was the floor carpet, wood, concrete? _

_As if someone had whispered the word in his ear, he suddenly knew Zack was in the basement…maybe Arwin's office? He began to race down the stairwell, his heart beating rapidly as fear and panic consumed every fiber of his body. He had wasted so much time already, he'd never make it in time. _

_He felt dizzy as he reached the basement, running down the grey hallway until he reached the quirky maintenance man's sanctuary. His heart skipped a beat as he quickly surveyed the office, not seeing his brother as he had expected. What now? He was out of places to look. He wasn't going to make it in time anyway, at this rate. He was torn between the idea of collapsing to the floor and sobbing and continuing in his search for his slightly-older brother. With a surge of courage and energy that could only be described as supernatural or heavenly, he sprinted out of Arwin's office. _

_A concrete hallway. Foggy. How did those two add up? _

'_Come on' he berated himself, 'I'm the smart one, I have to figure this out!'_

_Misty fog on a concrete hallway…..concrete….hallway._

_He had it all wrong, he shouldn't be looking for Zack in the basement. Why would there be fog down there? Fog belonged outside….and alleyways could definitely be mistaken for hallways if you weren't sure where you were to begin with. He raced to the service entrance on the east side of the hotel, fear gripping his gut as he approached the heavy metal door. _

_He could feel something was wrong, he knew he was too late. Just as before, he opened the door and took a few steps into the foggy alley, tripping over Zack's body and landing in a pool of blood. Zack's blood. He stared down at his brother's pale face and lifeless eyes. He was too late. Zack was gone._

Cody awoke with a bloodcurdling scream, violently shaking as he tried to forget the chilling images from his dream. He found himself barely able to breathe as he fumbled for his lamp, sobs wracking his body as he tried to force his emotions from the dream to subside.

His mother appeared at his bedside almost immediately, a baseball bat in one hand as she flipped the light switch, expecting the worst. Seeing that the boys were alone, she let the bat fall to the floor, and she took Cody into her arms, "It's okay, sweetie, it's okay."

"It was so real." Cody sobbed, still shaking in his mother's arms, "I couldn't find….it was too late….blood everywhere…dead…"

"Just take a few deep breaths, it was just a dream." Carey soothed, "Dreams can't hurt you, they aren't real. Just take a deep breath and try to calm down."

It took several minutes before Cody was able to calm down enough to stop his tears, and nearly 10 more before he was willing to let go of his mother. It felt so real. He could understand one weird nightmare, but two that were practically the same? It had to mean something. As he released his mother from his tight grasp and laid back against his pillow, he glanced in Zack's direction, surprised to see his brother hadn't budged. Cody stared intently at him for a few moments, until he was sure he was able to see his brother's chest rising and falling. He was still alive…for now. Releasing a shaky breath, he managed to flash his mother a slight smile, "Thanks."

"That's what I'm here for." Carey replied, kissing the top of his head, "Let me know if you need anything, okay sweetie?" She glanced over at her other son, who had started snoring once more, "Wow, he must have been exhausted to sleep through all of this."

"Yeah." Cody replied softly, "Uh,Mom?"

Carey stopped in the doorway, looking back at her youngest son with a raised eyebrow.

"Can you leave the light on?"

Carey offered him a slight smile, nodding slightly as she shut the door. Cody rolled over, staring at the clock. It was 5:15 am. At least he wouldn't have to stare at the ceiling too long before it would be time to get up for school. This time, however, he didn't spend the rest of his night staring at the ceiling, and was back asleep within minutes.

To Cody, it felt like hardly any time had passed between his mother leaving their room and returning to announce that it was past time to get up. As Cody awoke, he found his brother's alarm blaring, Zack still lying motionless in his bed. Stifling a yawn, he turned the alarm off and tried to force himself to wake up fully. He had a test in less than an hour and between his tired mind and aching body, he suddenly felt totally unprepared. Even though he had only run up the stairs in his dream, every muscle ached as if he had actually performed the task, and his mind was still foggy from the tears he had shed.

He stumbled into the kitchen, grabbing a slice of toast from the toaster as he collapsed into a chair, "I'm so tired."

"You had a rough night." Carey said quietly, "Did you get any more sleep?"

Cody nodded, yawning as he bit into the dry toast, too tired to bother buttering it, "A bit."

"What was that dream about? I've never seen you so frightened." Carey asked, her hand on his shoulder, "You really scared me."

Cody shrugged slightly, taking another bite of his toast. He didn't want to talk about it; he didn't even want to remember it. "I don't remember."

Carey didn't believe him for one second, but she decided that it wouldn't do any good to push him when he clearly didn't want to talk about it. They ate in silence for a few moments before she walked back to the boy's room, opening the door once more to tell Zack he needed to get up and ready for school.

Walking back to the kitchen, she questioned her younger son, "Did you look over your science notes one last time?"

"Yeah," Cody replied between bites, "I skimmed through my notes. I practically have them memorized, though, so there's not really much more I can do to prepare."

Zack, who had just dragged himself out of bed, heard the last part of the exchange, panic rising as he suddenly remembered their big science test. Why didn't anyone remind him? There was no way he could learn even a few random facts before school began in half an hour. He needed a plan, and fast. He only had these last few weeks to pull his grades up before the end of the term, and he wasn't about to spend 3 months in summer school over a forgotten test.

He quickly laid back down in bed, rubbing his face quickly with his hands, trying to warm his cheeks up. Maybe if he could convince his mom he was sick, she'd let him stay home and he could spend the day studying. He closed his eyes, intending on feigning sleep, but when Carey entered his room 5 minutes later, he was snoring, his body limp.

"Zack?" She said softly, shaking his shoulder, "I've told you three times already, it's time to get up! You're going to be late!"

Blinking open his eyes, Zack quickly pushed past the fog of sleepiness and put his plan into action, "Mom, I don't feel so good."

"You don't?" Carey asked, placing her hand on Zack's forehead, "You don't feel warm. What's wrong?"

Zack closed his eyes, grimacing in what hoped was a pained expression, "My head hurts…and my stomach….and I just feel bad."

Carey stared at her older son, wondering for a moment if he was legitimately sick or not. On one hand, he had a huge test today that she was fairly certain he hadn't studied for and it wouldn't be the first time he had pulled a stunt like this to get around academia. On the other hand, though, he had been sleeping an awful lot and he had skipped dinner the previous night. Maybe he wasn't trying to con her this time.

"Why don't you try to go to school, and if you still feel bad later this morning, you can come home."

Zack nodded, sitting up as his mother disappeared from the room. He had a feeling she wouldn't buy it…he had to pull out the big guns if he was going to pull this off.

He changed his shirt, still wearing the same jeans from the previous day, and made his way to the kitchen with a scowl. He had to find a way to convince his mom to keep him home; there was no way he was going to be taking a test this morning. He sat at the table, staring at the two slices of toast his mother had place in front of him. He glanced at Cody, who was refusing to meet his eye, and in what he hoped was an ingenious plan, he abruptly pushed his chair away, his hand covering his mouth, and sprinted to the bathroom, slamming the door shut while making a few convincing, at least he hoped they were convincing, gagging sounds.

Knowing he only had a few seconds to make this believable, he splashed some water on his face, then flushed the toilet and sat on the floor with his back against the wall just as Carey opened the door. He closed his eyes, placing his hands over his face and rubbing his temples with a slight groan.

"Zack, honey, are you alright?" Carey asked, squatting beside him, "Come on, let's get you back to bed."

As soon as his mother left him in the privacy of his room, he let out a huge sigh of relief and kicked off his shoes, staring at the ceiling. Soon, Cody would leave for school and then shortly after that, Carey would leave for rehearsal. Then, the suite would be all his for hours. He smiled, pleased with himself. He may not have book smarts, but he definitely knew how to get what he wanted. As for the test, it would be a lot easier to cheat during a make-up exam when no one was around to watch him. With any luck, he'd find a way to ace the test and have his mother call him the smart son, for a change. Gone was the loneliness he had been overwhelmed with the previous night, today's Zack was determined to initiate change in his life, starting with finding a way to finally be "the favorite son".

TBC…..

Coming up: What happens when Zack's caught cheating? Will Cody be able to decipher what's happening in his dreams in time to stop a horrible chain of events before they take place?


	4. Concern

A/N: Ok, this chapter didn't go as far as I had hoped it would, but it was getting rather wordy, so I decided to cut it off before accomplishing all of my goals. Thank you all for your wonderful response!

Shades of Grey:

Chapter Four:

Zack had feigned sleep when Cody had come in to get his backpack, knowing he wouldn't be able to fool his younger brother and not really up for a lecture on studying, lying, or both. After he heard the door shut, signaling his departure, Zack pulled out his science book, trying to determine what method of….answer recollection….would work the best for the test he'd surely have to make up in the morning. Not only would this earn him an A for the exam, therefore a passing grade for the term, but if his mother happened to walk in, she'd think he was being studious for once in his life. She may even be proud.

He had only just figured out what chapters were going to be on the test when Carey walked in, a plate and a cup in her hands, "Hey sweetie, I thought I'd leave you some toast and juice, in case you feel hungry later."

"Thanks Mom." Zack replied with a slight smile. Why couldn't she just leave? He really wanted to be alone, he wasn't in the mood to make small talk with his mom. He was fairly certain that if the topic strayed too far from a general questioning of his health, he'd find himself being compared to his nearly perfect brother once more and he wasn't sure his self esteem was up for another beating today.

Carey leaned over, kissing the top of his head, "I have to get to rehearsal soon, but I'll keep my cell phone with me and I'll be right downstairs if you need anything. Are you feeling any better?"

Zack shrugged, looking down at his comforter and resting a hand on his stomach, "A little bit. I'm sure it's nothing serious."

"Well if you start feeling worse or if you get lonely, give me a call and I'll cut rehearsal short."

Carey gave him a soft smile as she exited the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Meanwhile, Zack opened his book and rolled his eyes, how dare she pretend to be concerned? It was no secret that Cody was the "chosen son", the one she'd much rather spend the day with if she had the choice, the one who could do no wrong and who was the apple of their mother's eye. She was probably sad that Zack was the one at home and not Cody, perhaps if her precious Cody had been home sick, she would have skipped her rehearsal just to stay upstairs with him.

He tried to shake off his own self-inflicted pity party and focus on the task at hand. He wouldn't be able to get things ready for the test if his mother was hovering over him anyway, so it was a good thing that she had gone to her practice session and wouldn't be around to interfere. Flipping through his binder, he came across the study guide they had been given nearly two weeks ago, suddenly wishing he had Cody's answered sheet. Before he even got to question number three, he had dozed off once again.

"Keep it down; I don't want you to wake up your brother."

Zack's eyes fluttered open as he heard his mother's voice through his closed door. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, he was surprised to find that he was covered, his book and binder on his dresser. A quick glance at the clock signaled that he had slept the entire school day away and the person his mother was speaking to had to be Cody.

He rubbed his eyes again, his stomach growling. The plate of untouched food his mother had brought earlier was now gone, replaced with a cup of water. He stared at the ceiling, trying to decide whether to listen to his tired body or his growling stomach. As he stifled another yawn, he decided food could wait, and he rolled over to try and go back to sleep.

He couldn't remember any other time in his life where he had slept so much as he had in the last few days. Staring at the wall, his mind foggy with fatigue, he wondered if he was actually sick. His body felt like he had been in a marathon, his mind like he hadn't slept in a month. As much as he wanted to contemplate the situation, the darkness enveloped him and he was quickly asleep once again.

In the living room, Cody was eating a sandwich his mother had prepared, filing her in on the day's events at school, "Our science test was super hard, even for me. I think I did okay, but it really challenged me. Our teacher thinks Zack missed deliberately in order to 'postpone the inevitable'; he didn't buy it when I told him he was legitimately sick. We started basketball in gym, though, so Zack will be sorry he missed it. I got his assignments for him, so he's not behind when he goes back tomorrow."

"That was really nice of you, honey." Carey replied, sitting next to him, "Zack is lucky to have a brother like you who will look out for him and make sure he doesn't fall behind."

"I'd say he'd do the same for me," Cody smirked, "but I know as well as you do that he'd probably forget if our roles were reversed."

Carey smiled, patting his knee, "Okay, you get working on your homework while I go down and get some stuff ready for my show tonight. Your brother's been sleeping all day, and he never did touch the breakfast I brought him, so for dinner you can order room service-nothing too expensive-and let Zack know he can do the same if he wakes up hungry."

"He must be really sick." Cody stated, glancing at his shut bedroom door, "You know he's going to regret sleeping the day away though when he's wide awake tonight and we're both asleep."

As it turned out, Cody was wrong. Zack slept through the night, and when Cody awoke the next morning, it was to the alarm clock screeching in his oblivious brother's ear. He turned it off, shaking Zack's shoulder roughly, "Wake up, it's time for school."

"Five more minutes." Zack mumbled, waving Cody away and pulling the pillow over his head. How could it be time for school already, it seemed like he just fell asleep ten minutes ago.

Carey looked up from the newspaper as Cody walked into the room, "Where's Zack? Is he still feeling sick?"

Cody shrugged, sitting at the table and putting a cinnamon roll on his plate, "I tried to wake him up be he went back to sleep."

"Did he get up while I was at my show last night?" Carey asked, her forehead wrinkling with concern, "It's unlike him to sleep away 24 hours straight." She hesitated before adding, "It's unlike anyone to sleep for 24 hours straight."

Cody shook his head, "I did my homework in our room and listened to the radio for a bit before bed, but he didn't even move. It sort of freaked me out, I had to check and make sure he was breathing several times, he's not usually _that_ heavy of a sleeper."

"I'm going to go check on him." Carey replied, "Eat your breakfast and get ready to go. It's raining out, so I'm going to drive you to school this morning."

Carey opened the door to the boy's room, concern evident on her features as she sat down next to her son, removing the pillow from his face and placing a cool hand on his warm forehead. She didn't think he had a fever, it was likely that the slight warmth was a product of the pillow that had been resting over his head as he slept. With a sigh, she shook his shoulder gently, "Zack, sweetie, wake up."

"What?" Zack mumbled, forcing his weary eyes to open, "Huh?"

"You've been sleeping nearly nonstop since yesterday morning." Carey said softly, placing her hand on his forehead again, frowning as he pulled away, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay." Zack replied, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "Tired."

"Tired?" Carey questioned, raising an eyebrow, "How can you still be tired after sleeping so much?"

"Don't know." Zack yawned, "Just am."

Carey paused, evaluating her son's overall appearance. He said he was feeling ok, but the dark circles under his eyes and his pale face indicated that maybe he wasn't in the best shape. With a sigh, she tucked the covers tightly around him, "Why don't you stay home again today and get some more rest, you look like you need it."

"Are you kidding me?" Zack asked, forcing his eyes open after they had slid closed once more, "You're going to let me stay home just because I'm tired?"

"Are you complaining?"

Not wanting to push his luck, Zack shook his head, "No, definitely not. I was just wondering when my Mom was abducted by aliens and reprogrammed."

"Haha, very funny." Carey replied, "Are you up for some breakfast? You haven't eaten in almost two days."

Zack shook his head, surprising himself as well as his mother, "No, I'm not hungry."

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me." Carey said softly, kissing his forehead softly before sanding, "I'm going to drive Cody to school, want to come for a ride?"

"No." Zack replied with yet another yawn, "But have fun."

Once his mother left the room, Zack laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what his problem was. While he wasn't as sleepy as he had been the previous day, his body still felt worn out and weary. He glanced at the door as it creaked open and Cody tiptoed into the room.

"You don't have to sneak in, I'm awake."

"Finally." Cody retorted, digging in his dresser for a pair of socks, "I've been worried about you."

Zack was quiet for a moment before whispering, "Me too."

The unusual twinge of vulnerability caught Cody's attention immediately and he shut his dresser drawer, sitting next to Zack, who had wearily pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"What's going on?" Cody asked, his forehead wrinkling in concern, "You've been acting really weird."

"I don't know what it is…" Zack began, hesitating momentarily as he began to feel nervous under Cody's close scrutiny, "I don't even know how to explain it. I don't know where to begin."

Squeezing Zack's hand, Cody replied softly, "Beginning at the beginning usually helps."

Zack was quiet for a few moments, trying to find a way to verbalize what he had been feeling, but was cut off as Carey called out, "Cody, time to go honey!"

"Never mind." Zack muttered, pulling his knees to his chest, staring at the green camouflage of his comforter, "See you after school."

Glancing between his obviously distressed brother and the door, Cody questioned quietly, "Do you want me to tell Mom I'm sick so I can stay home with you?"

The strength Zack had possessed moments earlier quickly vanished and he felt himself growing more and more uncomfortable with the idea of talking about this with Cody as each moment passed. Shaking his head, Zack waved him on, "No, go ahead, we'll talk this afternoon."

Both boys knew it was a lie.

TBC….

In chapter 5….Zack goes back to school, Cody has another dream, something happens to drive a further wedge between the two boys.


End file.
